Embodiments of present invention relate to a methods and apparatuses for the sharing of test parameters and data from analytical instrumentation. More particularly, the present invention provides for the storage and retrieval of operating parameters, including test, for analytical instruments and the data generated thereby using a database accessible over a network.
Typically, the analysis of samples using an analytical instrument requires the operator to set operating parameters of the analytical instrument prior to performing the experiment at hand. The test is then performed, generating experimental data that may then be interpreted. In the area of biochemical analysis, the instrument's set of operating parameters is known as a “protocol,” and includes all the relevant information necessary for the instrument to complete the analysis. A protocol may include a large number of parameters. Thus, the instrument's operator faces the daunting task of correctly entering each parameter of the requisite protocol.
This can be especially troublesome when an operator at one location attempts to replicate a test previously performed at another location. Not only must the protocol be correctly entered, the operator must somehow acquire the data from the remote location in order to make a comparison of the original test data and that generated by the present test. Moreover, information unrelated to the operation of the analytical instrument, but often necessary nonetheless, is frequently unavailable, incompletely, or inaccurately recorded. Such information might include operator identification, time, and date of the test, model, and revision of instrument used, and other such information.
In addition, most research facilities normally support a number of analytical instruments for performing all manner of analyses. Determining when (or even if) a comparable test has been run can easily become problematic. This is especially true when multiple research facilities are being supported. Currently, a person wishing to determine such information is consigned to manually reviewing records in an effort to find comparable experiments and/or experimental data.
What is therefore needed are techniques for setting the analytical instrument's parameters and recording data generated thereby that can be easily accessed and searched. Moreover, such an application should support searching of the parameters and data stored therein. Preferably, such a system should be able to carry out these operations remotely.